


Never Again

by rexisnotyourwriter



Series: Before the Flood [9]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Car Accidents, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 11:50:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5333060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexisnotyourwriter/pseuds/rexisnotyourwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec rushes to the hospital after hearing Daisy got in an accident.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Again

He never should have let her go. He didn’t really know who this Brittany person was - a friend from school, but not one she had mentioned often. It was a sweet sixteen party. It had been a while, but he remembered them, sort of.

Alec wasn’t usually the one to deal with giving approval for these sorts of things, but he was a single parent for the weekend thanks to a girls retreat with some old college mates that had took Tess out of town.

He should have been tipped off by the fact that this so-called friend was a few years older than Daisy.

His phone rang at 11:43pm. It was the hospital. As soon as he heard the words ‘daughter’ and ‘accident,’ he had his coat half on and was looking like mad for his keys.

He ran inside the hospital, frantically trying to find out which room she was in.  The nurse was less than helpful, but he was in such a state, he probably wasn’t making much coherent sense.  His heart felt like it was about to come bursting out his mouth as he ran down the hall, dodging people left and right.

It stopped when he saw her.

Thank God she was alright. With the exception of a couple bruises and a sore neck, she was unscathed. Her face filled with horror and guilt when she saw him. Then the tears started.  

His head was still spinning from sprinting and turning his head side to side looking for her room number.  He managed to make his way to the edge of her bed to sit down.

Between sobs she explained that some of the kids wanted to go for a ride, and one of them had been drinking and got behind the wheel. It was just a short drive; she didn’t think he was all that drunk, but by the time she realized he was, it was too late to get out of the car. They swerved onto the curb trying to avoid a car and hit a tree. The worst injury was a broken arm given to the driver.

_Serves him right._

"I’m so sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to," she managed to get out before returning to her sobs.

He wrapped his arms around her, gently, and let her cry into his chest.

"It’s ok, sweetheart," he said, rubbing her back.

He didn’t let her go until she loosened her grip.  She looked up at him, trying to read his level of disappointment. He just looked…relieved.  

"I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt," he said.

"I’m sorry. It was stupid. I don’t even know why I did it."

She got the clear from the nurse to leave, and they got into the car. It was a completely silent drive for at least the first five minutes.

"Does Mom know?" she asked.

He hadn’t told her yet; he rushed to the hospital as soon as he got the call. His grip on the wheel tightened.

"No."

She fidgeted with her fingers.

"Are going to do anything like this ever again? Can you promise me that you won’t?"

"Of course.  Never.  I promise."

He glanced over at her.  This whole ordeal seemed like punishment enough.

He held out his left hand to her, pinky extended, eyes back on the road.

She looked at it before hooking her own pinky around his, the smallest hint of a smile forming on her face.

"Good," he said.

He gave her finger an extra squeeze before releasing it.  

She waited, expecting him to say something more.

"No need to worry your mother about it then, right?"

She smiled.

"Thanks, Dad."

He nodded as he turned the car into the parking lot of the ice cream shop. She was a bit confused, but pleasantly.

"Right then.  Banana split?" he asked.

She nodded with a smile as they both got out of the car.

"Your treat," he added.

He gave her hair a ruffle and put his arm around her shoulder.  She leaned her head into his chest.

“I love you, Dad,” she said softly.

He kissed her head.

“I love you too, darling.”

 

 


End file.
